Choose records by their characteristics
Create several entries with different properties: a simple record, one with an attachment and one linked to another entry. Add a longer text, accented characters and a date where relevant. Use appropriate sample information rather than confidential client data.
Write down what you expect in the export beforehand. In a project tool, tasks, comments, ownership and attachments may matter. Checking only task titles may hide the loss of decision history until much later.
Assess scope separately from format
Check whether particular areas or only the whole account can be exported. Options vary. Google Takeout, for example, lets users select products for an archive; that does not establish that another tool provides the same selection or formats.
A readable format is not automatically a complete exchange format. A PDF may preserve visible content well without expressing relationships for another application. A table can contain structured values while omitting comments or attachments.
Ask two separate questions: can somebody read this information later, and can the intended destination import it meaningfully? Archiving and continued editing may require different outputs.
Open it outside the original account
Save the export in an appropriate location and open it with an independent program. Check that downloads completed and whether an archive consists of several parts. A successful download notification does not establish that every expected component exists locally.
Compare several records field by field against your starting notes. Are characters, paragraphs, dates and relationships correct? Are attachments included, or merely linked to files that still require the old account? Open at least one reference instead of only counting it.
Record missing or transformed content. If ownership appears only as an internal number, an additional mapping list may be needed. A raw format can be useful but may require more preparation than an immediately understandable output.
Try a small import
If a destination is already chosen, import the test data into an appropriate empty area. Check its import capabilities first and do not experiment blindly inside production records. A test copy is easier to compare and discard when something goes wrong.
Pay attention to field meaning. A creation date is not a deadline even when both appear as dates. Agree the mapping before import and document deliberate omissions or conversions.
Afterwards, compare more than record counts. Open complete cases and perform a typical task. Can comments be found, related files opened and an existing entry edited? This reveals actual usability.
Use an attachment as a test case
Take a task with an attached PDF and a comment referring to its second page. After export, you should be able to establish which file belongs to that comment. If only comment text and an inaccessible link remain, an important relationship is missing for that reading task.
It may be possible to save the file separately and connect it through a reference. Document that extra step and assess its effort across the whole dataset. Solving one test case manually does not mean the same approach remains manageable for thousands of attachments without further planning.
Then decide whether the export serves its intended purpose. A reading copy and a project structure that can be continued have different requirements. State which of these you actually tested.
Bring the result back into the decision
Record which data exports reliably, what extra effort is required and what limits remain. These findings belong in the software assessment even when another product advertises more eye-catching features. A future move should not depend on untested assumptions.
Also check whether export requires a particular role or an active subscription, using the provider’s current terms. Downloading an archive does not mean data has been deleted from the former service: export and deletion are different operations.
